AstraZeneca and MedImmune today announced that partner LEO Pharma has been given permission to sell a new bio-medicine in all 28 EU member countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The new drug is Kyntheum (brodalumab) and treats plaque psoriasis by blocking the biological activity which produces the problem.

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin disease affecting an estimated 125 million people worldwide, including nearly 14 million Europeans. It primarily affects the skin, but carries with it a substantial social and psychological burden, even when a relatively small proportion of body surface is affected.

A clinical trial involved 4,373 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, the largest study population in the development programme of any new biologic medicine for psoriasis to date.

In July 2016, AstraZeneca announced an agreement granting LEO Pharma, a specialist in dermatology, exclusive rights to develop and commercialise Kyntheum in Europe. Brodalumab is currently approved in the US (under the brand name Siliq) and in Japan.